


What's at stake

by lalaluma



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: Blood bank au, Chase is a Vampire, Jack is an Art, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2018-09-30 01:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10149650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalaluma/pseuds/lalaluma
Summary: After the near extinction of humanity, they depended on vampires to survive. Now, in a world where nearly all humans have black hair and eyes, oddities are sought after as Arts, arm candy and main food sources for noble vampires.Jack is quite the oddity, and being an albino is only part of it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Blood Bank](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/271604) by Silb. 



Chase Young was a peculiar vampire. His hair was such a dark shade of green it appeared black like a human's, but addressing him as such would be the last mistake you made. On more than one occasion a new to town vampire caught his yellow eyes with their elongated pupils mistook him for an Art, and were only protected by their status. So as a vampire frequently mistaken for an Art, Chase never truly felt the need to buy an Art for himself.

For this reason, among many others, Chase was at his wit's end with Wuya in his office.

Wuya was a merchant for many wares, though her most popular were her Arts. She had a knack for finding humans with aesthetically pleasing birth defects, ones who differed from the black hair and eyes humans had been bred to have after their near-extinction, and raising their blood quality. Her arts were a status symbol to own, and most vampires would be ecstatic to have her seek them out, but Chase had on more than one occasion kicked her out during one of these sales pitches. The only reason he hadn’t yet this time was the product was more...interesting, than usual.

“His name is Jack,” Wuya preened, clearly proud of herself on this find. Jack, as it turned out, was less proud. Most arts were charismatic and full of themselves, knowing they would live in the lap of luxury amongst vampires, but Jack seemed timid. He shook some in his tank top and holey jeans despite the warmth of the room, and couldn’t make extended eye contact “He’s a natural born albino,” she continued, twisting a lock of his hair up and lifting it to show it was white to the roots, with no signs of bleaching, and Jack flinched. 

Chase hummed thoughtfully, still not convinced she was able to secure such a rare find, and if she had he had no idea why she would bring him here. Did she really want to make a sale to him so badly? “You,” Chase called Jack, pheromones filling the air to make his commands nearly impossible to ignore. “Come here.”

Spurred on by the pheromones, intoxicated and confident by Chase’s scent, Jack strode up without a tremor. 

“Take out your contacts,” Chase commanded, and sure enough Jack moved to remove a contact. Anger flared in Chase momentarily at the thought that Wuya had entertained the idea of tricking him until he found the contacts were clear, and the vibrant red irises remained. “That's enough, you can put them back in.”

Jack silently obeyed, and Chase realized he hadn’t spoken a word since he got here. Pheromones wouldn’t make speech impossible unless Chase commanded silence. “Are you mute?”

“No, sir.” Jack’s voice cracked some at the use after such a long period of silence, and Chase gave the smallest hint of a smile at the addition of ‘sir’.

“Your hair,” Chase motioned with too long nails. “Is white it’s natural color? Give me the truth.”

“Yes, sir. I was born like this.”

“Is there something wrong with you?” his voice was cold, unfeeling, and he saw Jack flinch for the first time under his control. “Is there something Wuya isn’t telling me about you? Are you diseased?” 

Suddenly a smell like that of an overbearing perfume flooded the room, and Chase scrunched up his nose in disgust. Wuya was using her pheromones. “You don’t have to answer that,” She told Jack firmly, then turned to the vampire. “Don’t you trust me? What would I gain from selling you a defective Art? My reputation would be ruined!”

“When have I ever trusted you?” Chase countered though he turned back to Jack. “One last question for you.”

“...Yes?”

“Are you scared of me?”

“Terrified.”

Chase grinned toothily at Jack, exposing his multiple sets of sharp teeth, build for puncturing and tearing human flesh, before returning his attention to Wuya, face stoic as ever. “I thought I told you before that I have no interest in buying Arts.”

“Yes, well, I’ve never brought you one so rare before,” She smiled, voice sickly sweet. “And before I’ve brought him to anyone else! You know Shadow would have devoured him in a heartbeat.”

Chase hummed in agreement. Sometimes, he had his doubts about turning her. She was too impulsive, too cruel, and often times too destructive. It’s why she no longer lived at the estate with him, and why he knew for a fact she would have bought and ripped Jack apart before Wuya had had a chance to leave. This still didn’t change that Chase didn’t really want to show off a human who looked more like a vampire than he did. “I have told you many times, Wuya, I don’t--”

“There’s a gala coming up, correct?” Wuya asked, but her smirk said she already knew the answer. “I’ll let you keep him for a month, and you can parade him around the gala as your own. If you aren’t satisfied, and he remains in one piece, you can return him to me and I won’t charge you a cent. If you become attached, however, well,” Chase was sure she meant the cackle to be a friendly chuckle, but it was far from it. “We can discuss prices when we get there.”

Chase pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off the inevitable headache dealing with Wuya incurred. She opened her mouth with a sharp intake of breath, ready to promote her deal further, but Chase raised a hand to stop her. “Enough,” he heaved, sick of her company. “If I say no, you’ll be in here for the next hour trying to convince me otherwise, so if I just say yes will you promise to leave quickly?”

Wuya’s grin was sharp, dangerous. “You won’t regret this.”

“I better not; now, go.”

With a gentle pat on Jack’s arm, Wuya swept out of the room, elegant gown trailing behind her.

Alone, Chase could feel waves of unease rolling off Jack. It seemed he wasn’t being smart when he said he was terrified. The vampire’s yellow eyes flicked over to his new Art, who flinched and crossed his arms in front of himself in a self-conscious gesture. Perhaps this would be interesting after all. Jack certainly was unlike any Art Chase had met before. “Jack, was it?”

“Yes, sir?”

“I have a great many things to deal with right now. Wuya ate up too much of my time,” he sighed, flipping through some of the paperwork on his desk. It wasn’t really all that much, but dealing with the merchant had drained him. “See one of my guards outside the door, he will bring you to the room where you will stay. My home is ill prepared for human guests but I promise I will have a meal for you come dinnertime. Now, leave me to my work.”

“Yes,” Jack nodded and made his way to the door. With a hand gripping the handle, Jack turned and quietly spoke. “...sir?”

“You may call me Chase.”

“Chase?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you for giving me a chance.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I included a link to Blood Bank on this fic, and if you haven't read it yet you probably should (at least the first couple) because I use terms like Art and Blood Tax without really explaining them a lot.
> 
> Also s/o to my friend aformofmotion who gave me this grade A fucking pun for a title.

Jack was fairly new to this whole Art business. His blood quality had always been too low, and so his albinism had been overlooked. Besides, most Arts were selected as children or young teens, so seeing as Jack was nineteen approaching twenty, he didn’t really expect to be scouted. Apparently, he was perfect for what Wuya had in mind, though, seeing as he was now the first Art to ever grace Young Manor.

  

Unpacking took Jack all of ten minutes. He only had a single suitcase, and what was in it were all clothes Wuya had purchased him and some vitamins he was to take daily to maintain S quality. He never had much before today, though he was concerned at the cost. Vampires, in general, scared him, as they should as the apex predators, but now he would have to feed one and possibly…

 

He had to find the playroom, to see what he was in for.

 

 Jack spent the several hours before dinner going through every door he could find, but none of them held the kind of room he had been described. He found a music hall, and a library, and a personal theater, and several guest rooms, but no play room. While peeking into a small study, Jack was startled by a hand suddenly on his shoulder. A man with a long braid and a face of stone said nothing but instead urged him to follow with a movement of his head. For a moment Jack was worried Chase didn’t like his snooping, and he would be receiving some sort of punishment when his stomach reminded him what Chase said about dinner.

 

The man with the braid said nothing the whole way, even when prompted to speak by Jack, and he was reminded of one of Chase’s questions earlier. _Are you mute?_ Perhaps the servants here actually were, it would explain why they were so adamant about their silence. Jack made a mental note to ask Chase about that later. 

 

Jack found that while the dining room was still very large, it was significantly smaller than he had anticipated. It could still hold a dinner party of about eleven guests, but no large party could all sit around the table together. Jack thought this must be intentional, as Chase didn’t seem to be one for company if his insistence against Arts was anything to go by. The man with the braid pulled out the chair at the closest end of the table, and Jack thanked him as he sat. This seemed to amuse Chase, who entered holding a wine glass whose contents were too thick to be red wine. Jack felt ill.

 

Before meeting Wuya, Jack had never seen a vampire feed. He was thankful most of them drank from glasses, but the way the blood clung to the sides and sloshed about thickly still made him nauseous. That had been inside someone, keeping them alive. The person was likely still alive, seeing as blood served this way all came from the Blood Tax, but still. It was like unnerving, in the same way finding an empty turtle shell was, knowing that there was a whole other part of this creature that was missing.

 

Chase sat at the opposite end of the table with his glass, taking graceful sips while Jack fidgeted with his hands under the table and intentionally looked away to avoid turning green. Chase, however, was staring him down, yellow eyes on his intensely pale neck. In that moment he briefly understood where Shadow’s primal instincts to tear and mark came from, and he made a note never to leave her alone with this Art.

 

“Is your room suitable?” Chase asked, trying to bring Jack’s attention to him.

 

“More than suitable,” Jack laughed nervously. It was a little dusty, but that only re-affirmed his suspicions that Chase was kind of a loner. In reality, Jack had never known such luxuries. His bed was softer than Jack knew beds could be, with sheets so smooth he worried he might slip right out of them when he went to bed. Briefly, Jack looked back at his temporary owner, just as he was finishing a sip, a hearty string connecting his lips to the glass and Jack had to hold back a gag. This also seemed to amuse Chase.

 

“I’ve never met a hemophobic Art.”

 

Jack shrugged his shoulders and ducked his head. “I’m less scared of blood and more…” Jack rolled his wrist in a gesture that indicated the obvious should follow, even if there was no obvious answer. Luckily, he was saved from talking about it by dinner emerging from the kitchen.

 

Another silent man placed a tray in front of him hosting all sorts of foods. Some kind of red meat, a baked potato, various small fruits, a couple of warm bread rolls, some slices of cheese, and a glass which held actual red wine. Jack thanked the man enthusiastically, earning a small smile, and dug in immediately. This amount of food would feed Jack for a full day on a good month, and even then it would be lukewarm at best. He could barely help the noise of immense appreciation he made at the tenderness of the meat.

 

“You know,” Chase said over his glass, chuckling to himself. “You don’t have to thank them.”

 

Jack looked to the man with the braid, now standing guard by the door, and swallowed his mouthful. “I think I would still like to...unless you’re telling me I’m not allowed?” He took a sip of his wine, which made it easier to pretend that’s what Chase was drinking, too.

  

“You are free to do as you please with them,” the vampire waved in the direction of the servant. “They will not complain.”

 

“They…” Jack started, thinking of how to phrase this as he picked up a warm bun. “They don’t say much of anything, do they?”

 

“Of course not,” Chase grinned, predatory. “They are warriors I have bested in combat. I’ve assured they will not speak unless I want them to.”

 

A cold chill made its way down Jack’s spine, and he shoved the bun in his mouth to avoid saying something he might regret. The unspoken promise of _the same can be done for you_ hung heavy in the air. Chase was absolutely horrifying. He was also elegant and beyond attractive, but in moments like these it was kind of hard for Jack to look past the fear. He downed the rest of his wine and another servant refilled his glass.

 

The rest of the meal was spent in relative silence. By the end of it, Jack had finished only about half his food and three glasses of wine, and the room was starting to shift and a cozy fire had been lit in his belly, warming his body and coloring his cheeks. It seemed the limits of human alcohol tolerance was endlessly amusing to Chase, as every fumble or slurred word earned him a chuckle.

 

Good, Jack needed Chase to be endeared to him.

 

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Jack inquired, made bold by too much wine for a nineteen-year-old boy. At this point, he was either unphased by Chase drinking blood in front of him, or he’d honestly forgotten it was blood in the glass. “Where is your playroom?”

 

The honest laughter was loud and sudden, and it startled the Art.

 

“Go to bed, Jack. I fear I’ve let you have too much to drink.”

 

Jack whined, but he was still being laughed at behind Chase’s hand and was kind of embarrassed he let the question slip at all, so he let himself be ushered out of the room and off to his room.

 

Once there, Jack had no qualms about stripping completely naked and sliding between the unbelievably smooth sheets. He fell asleep quickly, from both the drink and the warmth and softness enveloping him on all fronts, and unlike his worries earlier in the day managed to stay where he was all night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, the rating may change. I haven't decided yet, though I know for sure there will be one scene that kind of pushes the T rating.  
> Also for the record, I have never before put out chapters this quickly in my life, so that might change and I'm sorry in advance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've kind of changed how vampires work from Blood Bank  
> They are more like traditional vampires, in that they can turn others and age much much MUCH slower than humans
> 
> also 3 chapters in 3 days holy shit

The first week Chase saw intentionally very little of his Art. He had no intention of keeping Jack, so it was best not to get attached to him. He tried to limit their seeing one another to meals, and even then he took some of his meals in his office. But even with these precautions, it was difficult to avoid the human, simply because he wanted so desperately to be seen. He may have been terrified of Chase, but it seemed he still wanted to do a good job.

A few nights, Jack would wait outside his office to walk to dinner together. He still emanated fear, but it became less potent as the week carried on. He also still looked immensely uncomfortable watching Chase drink, but he had...plans for that.

Outside of meals, however, Chase saw Jack only a handful of times. Once, asleep in the study, curled over a schematic he was drawing, some of the ink staining the pale skin of his arm. Another time the human was investigating rooms, and leaped about a foot in the air and colored nicely at being caught. Chase could have used his pheromones to force Jack into telling him what he was doing, but he had a pretty good idea based on Jack’s question his first night. Instead, he teased the boy about his lack of boundaries and watched him turn even redder.

The third time was in the library.

This time was different. Chase couldn’t really brush him off because he actually needed something from here. Luckily, Guan was doing his job as Jack’s personal bodyguard and Chase was able to command him to find the records while Jack came up to enthuse about the library.

“I’ve never seen a collection so large!” He chirped excitedly, eyes wide with excitement, clutching a book to his chest. It was on mechanical design, and behind him, there were several others in a stack, and one book of old fairy tales. “The library back at the farm isn’t even a fourth this size, and I’d already read all of the books there.”

Chase grinned, having found an opportunity to tease his guest. “All of them?”

Jack blushed and shrugged. “Hey, listen, trashy romance novels start looking pretty good when you’ve read everything else twice.”

“Hmmm,” Chase mused, sensing a lie. “I don’t think they were really your last choice, were they?”

Jack fumbled over his words, cheeks darker than ever, as Guan stepped around him to hand off the records. Chase ruffled his incredibly soft white hair as he moved to sit in one of the cushiony seats surrounding a fireplace. Jack joined him in the seat he’d been using previously, and they spent the night in silence, simply reading until Jack began to fall asleep in his chair.

For a moment, Chase thought keeping him around wouldn’t be so bad.

He shooed the idea away, unwilling to entertain such a thought. His last Art had turned sour so quickly, and unless certain precautions were taken they never lasted long anyway. Chase had no need of an Art. Especially not one who was queasy at the sight of blood being drank.

Speaking of which…

Come the weekend, Chase was ready to implement his plan. While he may not have real intentions of keeping Jack, but he could at least prep him for the future. At least, that’s what Chase told himself. He’d sent out one of his servants to buy the item necessary and ordered another to deliver a notice to Jack that he would not be joining him for dinner, but instead would be summoning him after. Knowing what he did about the boy, Jack was probably shaking like a leaf, worried Chase was going to punish him for something.

What he didn’t expect was to find a buzzed Jack at his bedroom door. 

“How much wine did you have?”

“Two,” Jack answered smugly. “At once.”

Chase sighed and lead him inside. The human definitely thought he was getting punished. He urged Jack to come around the edge of the bed, on hand around his wrist and the other on his hip to keep him from falling. When they came to something large and flat and covered in a sheet, Chase placed Jack’s hand on the sheet. Swallowing thickly, Jack made a fist in the material but didn’t move to remove it yet. He looked nervously back at Chase, who still had a hand on his wait, and who simply raised an eyebrow in reply.

In a fluid motion, Jack yanked the smooth sheet off to reveal a large mirror. Confusion radiated off of him as Chase stepped away and back, sitting on the edge of the bed. “What’s...what?” Jack inquired.

Chase pat his lap, motioning for Jack to sit there, and he hesitated a moment but did as he was instructed. They sat with Chase’s chest to Jack’s back, facing the mirror, though Jack struggled to face much of anything. With a hand, Chase grabbed his chin and turned it to their reflection, yellow eyes meeting Jack’s red ones in the surface. “Do not look away,” He commanded, but without the use of pheromones. This was an order Jack would follow on his own, and so far, he was. 

Chase released his chin, instead letting that arm wrap around Jack’s middle. His other hand let its lone nails dance gently over Jack’s arm down to his hand, lacing their fingers together to raise Jack’s palm to his lips. Chase placed soft kisses to the palm, feeling out the best pulse point before double checking Jack was looking still. Red eyes burned into him, questioning and intense, and so without looking away from the eye contact Chase revealed his double sets of long, sharp teeth, and sunk them into the meat of Jack’s palm.

Above him, Jack gasped and writhed, clearly wanting to pull away but knowing he had to stay. That this was his job, his purpose. Chase had let him go a full week before he fed on him, and would likely give him a few days after this time to adjust, but he needed to know Chase wasn’t going to go easy on him forever, and any owners after certainly wouldn’t.

Chase was mindful of his Art, only taking the bare minimum of what he needed to keep from overwhelming him. He carefully removed his teeth and laved his tongue over the four punctures in Jack’s palm, alleviating some of the pain. Jack’s breath was slightly labored, but his stare hadn’t wavered. Good, he needed to adjust to this.

Jack was a little wobbly on his feet, from the wine and the blood loss, and needed some assistance getting to the bathroom. Chase carefully cleaned and bound the wound, using some gauze to pad it and absorb the excess blood. 

The Art appeared to be in something of a daze, and Chase saw no harm in analyzing him while he bandaged his palm. Jack was very pretty for a boy, but that was to be expected of an art. His lack of grace was probably what kept him out of this business for so long. Normally, an albino would be sold by 13, while Jack was clearly in his late teens, almost too old for an Art. Then again, Wuya did know Chase had no intention of taking child Arts at his age.

Jack’s face wasn’t any more pale from the blood loss, but Chase wasn’t sure that was even possible. His cheeks, however, were slightly tinted, from either the wine or the situation. Against them, long white lashes Chase hadn’t noticed before stood out beautifully. Chase finished wrapping the wrist and brushed a stray lash from his cheek.

“You did well, Jack,” Chase praised. In his stupor, Jack only hummed in acknowledgment, though his cheeks gave away how the compliment affected him. He cupped the back of Jack’s neck and kissed his forehead, releasing some of his pheromones. “Sleep,” He commanded and Jack did.

Chase could have had a servant carry Jack to his room, but he did the job himself. He stripped him to his underpants and tucked him in, and watched him sleep until the sun began to rise, and he didn’t fully understand why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No chance, no way, he won't say it, no no  
> You swoon, you sigh  
> Why deny it, uh oh  
> It's too cliche  
> Chase won't say he's in love


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase takes Jack to get some proper clothes for the gala.
> 
> Jack can't keep his hands to himself for even a second.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo what up it's ya boi Noah
> 
> I'm manic again so naturally I'm writing this fic
> 
> lots of notes about the future of this fic at the end. all good news, I promise.
> 
> so theres uuuhhh...BDSM gear in this chapter, but it's not really sexual
> 
> this chapter is like the length of the first 3 combined so hopefully that makes up for the wait

Four puncture marks remained on Jack’s palm, in two groups of two next to one another, mirroring the four long, sharp teeth along Chase’s top jaw. They had mostly healed with the thanks of balms and medicine, and only slightly sore pink marks were his reminders of the first time he’d ever been the direct food source of a vampire. He ran his fingers over the tender marks and shuddered at the memory. 

 

They were not his only marks, however.

 

Three days later Chase recreated the scene, but instead went for the opposite forearm. This time Jack was at least mildly prepared and was able to avoid any of the embarrassing squirming and gasping. Though he did find that he didn’t necessarily...hate...being fed on. The sensation was strange to say the least, but Jack had always been a bit of a masochist. And it didn’t even hurt that bad, thanks to whatever was in vampire spit.

 

So then maybe yesterday, when Chase decided it was his shoulder’s turn, Jack had to have a battle with an awkward boner. He was thankful for later, when he was alone in his room applying light pressure to the wounds, and didn’t need to fight such a battle.

 

Jack was suddenly having to come to the very real terms that failing to be taken as Chase’s art would bring. Another vampire would not be as gentle, he was sure. They had mentioned someone named Shadow, and how they would tear Jack apart, and he was certain that should Wuya let him live long enough to be shipped off to another vampire, it would be them. Jack had been hired under very specific conditions.

 

But also, another vampire just wouldn’t be Chase, and Jack felt like they had bonded over the past two weeks. Or at the very least Jack admired Chase, to put it lightly. Even if he might have a hard time looking him in the eye after last night. Not only because of his less than pure actions but also because vampires were known to be able to smell emotions, and Chase was likely aware of the effect he was having on Jack. Not to mention Jack still hadn’t found the playroom, so he had no idea what Chase might expect of him in...that department, though Jack was sure anything he suggested, Jack would agree to without a second thought.

 

The longer he worked as Chase’s art, the more he wished he had never taken this job.

 

He was dwelling on such thoughts, pushing around his breakfast, when Chase interrupted him. “Jack, the gala is next week,” He said casually over his glass. Jack had long since grown accustomed to the viscous fluid, and no longer felt queasy at the sight of it.

 

“So it is,” Jack replied, not exactly sure where this was going. He quickly popped a strawberry in his mouth to try and distract himself from how nervous that statement made him. Had Chase already made a decision on if he would keep Jack or not? Would Wuya be there? Jack had nothing for her, yet. She would be mad for sure, he would be--

 

“Well, you can’t attend with me looking the way you do,” Chase’s voice was even but his face was smug. He laughed when Jack made an incredulous sound. There was nothing wrong with the way he looked! He looked fine! Better than fine! “I mean to say that we’ll need to buy you some new clothes.”

 

“Oh,” Jack sighed, all his anger and most of his nerves leaving on the exhale. “Are you sure? I don’t mind going in this.” Jack, like most arts, had been fitted with a long white tunic that came to just above his knees, and not much else. It was up to owners to supply them with more clothes, but Jack had been comfortable enough to just rotate between the three tunics he came with. They were softer than any of the government issued clothing he’d worn before, and it was always warm enough in the manor anyway, so who was he to complain?

 

Chase, however, wouldn’t even consider it. “If I’m going to be bringing an art with me, he will be a well dressed one at least. We’re going shopping once the sun is down.”

 

Knowing better than to fight this, Jack gave a stiff  “Yes, sir.”

 

In the few hours between when they woke up and sundown, Jack had been fitted with pants for the trip. All of the servants were much too large to have hand-me-downs that would fit, so they had to take in the seam on a pair of Chase’s old pants. Jack had never worn pants like these before, as he’d always lived on a farm with government issued clothing, and he kept rubbing the black jeans that stood out starkly against his tunic. The insides were lined with fleece, and the soft fabric kept him plenty warm in the brisk night air.

 

“You know,” Chase hummed, clearly amused. “You’ll have to get used to more elaborate clothing than this.”

 

Jack perked up some at this. Was Chase suggesting a future with Jack as his Art?

 

The vampire cleared his throat, seemingly a little uncomfortable with Jack’s enthusiasm. “Arts are often dressed up for events like the gala, or even around the home. Your future owner will likely wish to show you off.”

 

Ah, it seemed not. Jack sunk some in his seat opposite Chase in the carriage. He did not see Chase’s yellow eyes darting over him, assessing him. 

 

The shop was unlike anything Jack had ever seen. Money wasn’t a commodity for humans. Everything you had was given to you based on the quality of your blood, or the type of work you did, and as someone who had a fairly low quality blood naturally and was a less than successful inventor, Jack never had much. The concept of trading wealth, be it blood or money, for goods and services was foreign to the Art at best. Before Wuya had plucked him off the farm, Jack had been practically starving. Never in his life did he think he would see such luxuries.

 

The store had several mannequins displaying different suits and dresses, all very fancy, but still a step down from what Chase normally wore. It was important to show the distinction between vampire and Art, after all. There were racks upon racks of dress shirts and slacks and gowns, and it honestly overwhelmed Jack. Thankfully, he would not be the one picking out any clothes.

 

“You’re free to look around, but stay within earshot. I want to be able to call you when I--when you’re needed.” Chase dismissed, and honestly with the way the shopkeep was looking at him with thinly veiled interest, Jack was happy to get out of sight. 

 

Jack wandered about the various rooms attached to the main entrance, finding even more mannequins  dressed to the nines, and more racks of clothing. Being around the mannequins alone was a little unnerving, but Jack distracted himself with touching the various textures available to him. Somehow, he found himself in front of a beautiful strapless red dress, the shorter skirt made up of ruffles of the smooth, silky fabric. He found himself mesmerized by it’s feel and beauty, only coming out of his trance with a start at the sound of the shopkeep clearing her throat.

 

“Please don’t touch that,” She said sharply. Her arms were filling up with various clothing Chase had picked out, and behind her Chase stood with an unreadable expression. Jack flushed and apologized, quickly brushing past them to look at other rooms.

 

A couple of the other rooms were fitting rooms, which Jack noted had no private spaces for changing. He supposed that most Arts, by the time they were brought here, had already become well acquainted with their owner’s playrooms and therefore such privacy wasn’t really needed. Jack hadn’t even  _ seen _ Chase’s playroom, and was starting to think Chase planned on keeping it that way. Not that Jack was bitter or anything.

 

One particular room, however, hosted a different kind or wear for Arts.

 

Wall to wall there was leather. Most of it various types of restraints or gags, but Jack also spotted crops and flogs. Jack felt this was a dangerous room for him to be in unattended, yet found himself drawn toward the center where an armless torso of a mannequin sported an intricate harness, a collar, and a headpiece with metal pieces meant to keep one’s mouth open. Jack had never really thought about such things given his fairly average upbringing. He’d also never touched leather before.

 

Giving the entrance a quick glance to make sure the shopkeep wasn’t around, Jack found her and Chase had disappeared from view again, and reached up to touch the harness. The leather was treated and smooth but firm to the touch, and the Art ran his fingers along the bumps of the seams. Feeling a little daring, Jack slipped his fingers between the mannequin and the harness to feel what the inside was like, and was surprised to find short, plush faux fur. It was probably very comfortable to wear. Between the pieces that went around the arms was a metal ring, likely to attach a leash or to manhandle someone by, a thought Jack found himself not hating like he thought he might. Jack shook his head of thoughts of wearing the harness, taking a step back, and colliding with something firm where nothing had been before.

 

He yelped in surprise and looked up, finding Chase’s piercing yellow eyes with their elongated pupils staring him down. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but did Chase’s pupils seem larger, more round than their usual thin slits?

 

Without looking away or moving Jack, Chase reached around the art and grabbed one of the harnesses from the display, handing it to the woman, who looked a little smug. “Jack,’ Chase said a little sternly.

 

“Chase?” Jack croaked, fearing he had gotten himself in trouble, had finally pushed the envelope too far.

 

“It’s time to try on your new clothes,” the vampire’s face and voice were doing that thing again, where Jack either couldn’t read or didn’t understand them. He had definitely pushed his boundaries too far on this shopping trip. Jack winced, fearing he might have hurt his chances at having Chase buy him, a mistake that could cost him his life.

 

As they walked back to one of the dressing rooms, Jack kept his head down and a hand on the fresh marks on his shoulder. Even with how gentle Chase was with him, the bites did still hurt. Shadow would not be so gentle. Jack had met her all of once, and that had been more than enough for him. She, like Chase, had multiple sharp sets of long teeth and had been turned and not born a vampire. Apparently she used to be an Art, but her lack of compassion towards them told another story. She seemed to be made entirely of hunger and destruction, but Wuya insisted that was just because he was human, and that apparently she was very well behaved around other vampires.

 

Jack, however, was not and had no plans of being a vampire, and so the thought of being left with Shadow was horrifying.

 

Once in the dressing room, Jack was instructed to undress to his underwear, something that made him fairly uncomfortable given he didn’t know the shopkeep, and that Chase was still giving him that look. He did as he was told anyway, and without complaint, as to minimize whatever damage he may have done.

 

“I gave her you measurements from this morning when we hemmed those pants, so ,the slacks should fit, but we just guessed on the shirt for now,” Chase said, voice still distant. He was staring, and Jack found it difficult not to cover up. Finally, the vampire turned to the shopkeep. “Try the striped pair, first.”

 

The woman handed Jack a pair of fitted slacks, black with thin white pinstripes going down them, and began dressing him in a white button up. Once he had the pants up, she tucked the shirt in and reached for a matching vest. The pinstripes made Jack look thinner and more lanky than he already was. Chase hummed in thought, and for a moment their eyes met in one of the several mirrors that made a semicircle in front of Jack. “The shirt seems to be one size too big, don’t you think?”

 

The Art nearly spoke up, but realized he was being talked about and not to when the woman replied “You’re right. I’ll go get a smaller one. You,” she turned her head quickly toward Jack. “Strip back down. I’ll be right back.”

 

“Yes, Ma’am,” Jack murmured, and to his surprise the woman actually, genuinely smiled at that before walking briskly out the curtain hanging in the doorway. Carefully unbuttoning the vest and shirt as to not pop a button off, Jack undressed as he was asked, looking down and away from the mirror to avoid catching Chase’s eye. As he was undoing the pants, however, Chase spoke up, startling him.

 

“That dress you were looking at earlier,” His voice was smooth and devoid of emotion. Jack was sure he was in for it now. “It was quite pretty, don’t you think?”

 

The Art was shaking some, partially because he was practically naked and it was a bit chilly in here, partially from fear of what Chase might do or say. “Y-yes...I’d never seen anything quite like it.”

 

“Do you want it?” Chase asked as if this were as normal as asking about the weather.

 

“I don’t think I follow, sir,” Jack winced as he slipped back into the more formal way of addressing Chase.

 

“Don’t make this more complicated than it is,” Chase sighed. “Do you want the dress or not?”

 

“I…”Jack faltered, unable to come up with the words he wanted. “Where would I even wear such a thing?” He laughed nervously, avoiding the question.

 

Chase’s gaze became shockingly predatory, and for a moment, he looked as though he had a few ideas, but was cut short when the shopkeep walked back through the curtain holding 3 shirts in Jack’s size.

 

“I have white, black, and red--those will look best on him, in my opinion.”

 

Chase paused a moment, schooling his expression before turning back to her. “Yes, I agree.”

 

They had Jack try on a few more vest/slacks combinations, rotating between the shirts,until they came to the last set. Chase still hadn’t done anything with the harness, which worried Jack more than anything.

 

The last set was a red vest made of the same material as the dress he’d been touching earlier with the with the white shirt and plain black slacks and a silky black tie. It was the most plain of the clothing Jack had been made to try on, and it honestly was the most comfortable. He was just starting to think Chase had forgotten about the harness, so naturally, he hadn’t.

“Now, forgive me, it’s been an awful long time since I’ve had an Art,” the vampire said in a way that actually sounded completely genuine. “How exactly do the straps work on this thing?”

 

Jack’s eyes went wide and his face red, but the shopkeep seemed completely unphased. “No problem at all, you wouldn’t believe how often I actually have to walk people through this.”

 

Step-by-excruciating-step, the woman helped Chase fit Jack with the harness, the entire time the Art averted his gaze. He thought this must be his punishment, to be forced to wear the harness he touched when he wasn’t supposed to. At least he was right about it being comfortable.

 

After tightening the last strap, Chase hooked two fingers through the ring that rested in the middle of Jack’s chest, tugging forward some to test the restraints. Jack still wasn’t looking at Chase, and so didn’t see the grin that was his only warning before the vampire lifted him a solid two feet off the ground using only the two fingers through the ring. Jack gasped and squeaked, hands coming up to grab Chase’s wrist for fear of falling and his knees curing in toward his chest. Chase had his attention now, red eyes trembling some.

 

Slowly, Chase lowered Jack to the ground, never breaking eye contact. Once reunited with the floor, Jack sunk down to a sitting position and just kind of stayed there while Chase and the woman talked casually, as if he hadn’t just made a display of his super-human strength. Jack didn’t weigh very much for his height, but still Chase hadn’t even looked strained. He’d always been so gentle with Jack, that the Art had almost forgotten that he was just as capable of tearing him to shreds as more unstable vampires. 

 

It was terrifying, yet also...not.

 

When instructed to do so, Jack shakily stood to his feet and undressed, putting Chase’s old jeans and his Art tunic back on, looking alot like a baby deer on its legs for the first time. Glancing over at Chase, Jack found he looked quite smug, which was a rather unusual look for him. Sometimes Jack wished he could smell people’s emotions the way Chase could. It would take the guesswork out of so many things, like why it amused Chase so much to torment Jack.

 

When they checked out, only some of the items were put into bags while the rest were set aside to be fitted more closely to Jack’s size and customized. Chase was busy ordering some accessories and accent pieces when Jack became distracted by a belt he saw in a display case up front. It was gold colored leather with a buckle that resembled a round birds skull. Something about it was nostalgic, but of what Jack wasn’t sure. He had never owned anything like it, so maybe he’d read about something similar? It was hard to tell with just how many books he’d been reading lately now that he had access to Chase’s library.

 

Jack hadn’t realized he was reaching toward the glass until a hand caught him by the wrist. His head whipped around to see it was Chase stopping him, and that the shopkeep was beginning to look very irritated with him. “Sorry…” he muttered, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

 

“Why don’t you wait by the door?” the shopkeep said in a sickly sweet voice, though she immediately looked like she regretted saying anything. Chase was giving her a look that could kill, and Jack felt real fear for what might happen to her.

 

“No, wait!” he blurted out, putting a hand on Chase’s chest and pushing back slightly, surprised when the vampire actually followed the movement. “She’s right. I’ve not been on my best behaviour. I’ll wait by the door. It’s fine.”

 

Chase glanced at Jack, then the shopkeep, and then back at Jack. He gently grabbed the back of the Art’s head, pulling him in to press their foreheads together for a moment while he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before letting go and taking a step back.

 

Jack stared at him for only a few seconds, trying to gauge if Chase had actually calmed down and being unable to really tell. Still, he felt it was best if he got away from this situation as soon as possible. Jack backed away a few steps before turning and heading toward the door. He didn’t have to, but he kept his back to the scene behind him, afraid of what he might be witness to should he look.

 

Behind him, Jack could hear the murmurs of a hushed conversation, but no sounds of violence, which was a plus. This went on for a minute or two, while Jack watched the horses outside be pet by the servant that had driven them here and smiled some. It was such a nice, soft image, so different from the tense air that permeated the shop.

 

Jack jumped as Chase rested a hand on his lower back, guiding him outside. Sparing a look behind him, he found the shopkeep was unharmed, though looked shaken, and maybe a little thankful towards Jack. He smiled sheepishly back at her, as if to apologize for the trouble he’d caused.

 

Chase led him back up into the carriage, climbing in after and setting the bags between them. The servant lifted up the steps and shut the door, and shortly after the carriage jolted to a start. Jack looked over at Chase, but now it was the vampire avoiding his gaze, looking out the window, seemingly deep in thought. Jack wanted to say something, but he didn’t want to disrupt Chase, and anyway he didn’t even know what it was that he wanted to say. Sorry, maybe? Thank you?

 

As they passed under a street lamp, something shimmered in one of the bags and caught Jack’s eye. He looked at Chase once more, finding him fully engrossed in whatever lay outside the window, and peeked as casually as possible into the bag. Inside, resting on top of a stack of slacks, was the belt Jack had been looking at in the display case.

  
A warmth radiated from Jack’s chest. Seeing the belt made him wonder if when Chase had asked about the dress, he was being serious and not just trying to embarass Jack. Chase was  _ actually _ trying to get Jack something he wanted. Jack smiled down at the bag. Maybe he hadn’t hurt his chances, afterall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it's news time
> 
> good news: I'm writing this fic again
> 
> bad news: I'm manic because I was stabbed in the back by someone I've known over ten years and now have to find a new apartment and job. yaaay. so while I will be updating, it may not be as fast as it used to be. that is to say I won't be pumping out a chapter a day. BUT you will see this fic update in the next week or two at least because I finally have a much needed beta, so I will be re-uploading these chapters once they're fixed.
> 
> as a side note, I lost the outline for this fic, but I remember the bulk of what happens, so I'm good without it.
> 
> also, maybe before this fic is finished, maybe after, you will be getting a fic in this universe about that dress. it will be Explicit.
> 
> speaking of Explicit, look forward to chapter 6, where the rating of this fic will be bumped up significantly.
> 
> anyway, next chapter is the gala, where secrets will be spilled and some more characters will be revealed.

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read Blood Bank and can guess what the conflict will be, please do not spoil it in the comments.


End file.
